All life has emptiness at its core; it is the quiet hollow reed through which the wind of God blows and makes the music that is our life.

What we choose to love is very important for what we love leads our eyes, ears, and hearts on a pilgrimage that shapes the texture of our lives.

What we love and what captures our curiosity draws us forward into some place of great destiny.

Can it then be that what we call the 'self' is fluid and elastic? It evolves, strikes a different balance with every new breath.

Even when our intentions are noble and our efforts sincere, even when we dedicate our lives to the service of others, the corrosive pressure of frantic over-activity can nonetheless cause suffering in ourselves and others. A "successful" life can become a violent enterprise.

Meditation helps me feel the shape, the texture of my inner life. Here, in the quiet, I can begin to taste what Buddhists would call my true nature, what Jews call the still, small voice, what Christians call the holy spirit.

Just because we are working hard does not mean we are making anything happen.